Eric up for the fight
WE KNOW WE HAVE TO GO THERE AND SCORE GOALS
SuperSport travel to Maritzburg hoping for a place in the final.
SuperSport United are ready for a battle at the Harry Gwala Stadium this Saturday in the MTN8 semifinal, second leg. Eric Tinkler has promised to attack Fadlu Davids’ Maritzburg United with everything at his disposal in an attempt to reach the final for the first time since 2004.
After holding out for a 1-1 draw in Pretoria on August 26, a win by any margin or a goalless draw will be enough for the Team of Choice to advance to their maiden cup final. On the contrary, a win, or a higher score draw than 1-1 will send Matsatsantsa through.
“This one is obviously an important game against Maritzburg and I explained to the guys the importance of the game,” said Tinkler.
SuperSport are coming off the back of a 2-1 friendly win over the Ke Yona youngsters in the Nedbank Challenge this past Sunday. The former Cape Town City mentor used that game to sharpen his charges.
“I was preparing these guys for that game and making sure they are fit and ready for Saturday. But we know we were missing seven of the regular players. Everyone will be back tomorrow. It gives us a couple more days ahead of the game to make sure we prepare ourselves. We know we have to go there and score goals,” Tinkler said.
Tinkler gave new signing Richard Boateng a run out, and was impressed by the Ghanaian international’s performance although he looked a bit off the pace against the youngsters.
“Boateng has signed for us and he is one of us now. It was the first opportunity to see him play. He has played a couple of friendlies but today he played in front of a huge crowd. The boys beat him once or twice in the first half and I thought that kind of caught him by surprise, which is a good experience for him.”
Meanwhile, Benni McCarthy’s Cape Town City will be looking to oust Bidvest Wits in their MTN8 semifinal on Sunday, as they hold a 1-0 advantage over the defending champions from the first leg in the Mother City.
Gavin Hunt’s Wits will hope to pick up a first win in three attempts this season against City – McCarthy’s side also beat them in a league game at the Bidvest Stadium.